The diagnosis of a terminal illness can have a debilitating impact on an individual's family and life, not to mention the toll regular hospital visits, doctors treatments, medications, surgeries and more can have on your finances. Even when you have health insurance the financial burden of a terminal illness is much more and can have a crippling impact on your finances. Hence, more and more people are opting for a terminal illness cover which will help you compensate for meeting day to day expenses of dealing with your illness without burning a hole in your savings.

What is terminal illness cover?

Terminal illness cover is a health insurance policy rider which can also be defined as an attachment or an amendment to an existing policy that provides coverage in addition to the plan. Riders are designed to strengthen an insurance policy by providing additional benefits apart from a death benefit. Terminal insurance is very similar to term insurance , but instead of getting a death benefit you get a tax-free lump sum amount when you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. If the unforeseen happens and you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, you will be given a guaranteed sum which can be used for any expenses. As we all know, the treatment for a terminal illness is time-consuming and costly, and the payout from your terminal illness cover can be used to meet these high expenses.

Terminal illness cover is designed to help you and your loved ones as they are coming to terms with the treatment for your terminal sickness. It also lets you focus on your recovery instead of worrying about hospital bills and finances. Many term insurance policies today, come with terminal illness riders, allowing you to have comprehensive life insurance in place. In fact, with the Heart and Health Insurance Plan provided by Generali Central, you get along with a death benefit, comprehensive cover against 59 critical illnesses and surgical procedures which include heart and cancer-related ailments. The plan is also entirely flexible and can be customized as per your needs and family history to provide heart cover, critical illness cover, heart cover with a return of premium and critical illness cover with the return of premium.

Should I opt for a terminal illness cover?

One of the main reasons to opt for terminal illness cover is that they cover a range of diseases and conditions which are currently on the rise including cancer, heart diseases, strokes, major organ failure, coronary artery bypass disease, Alzheimer's disease, deafness, blindness, benign brain tumours, severe burns, paralysis, comas, and more. In fact, as per data provided by the National Crime Records Bureau over 26,000 people in India died due to diseases such as AIDS, cancer and paralysis.

As per the data by the World Health Organization, more and more people are dying every year due to cancer, with the number touching 9.6 million in 2018. While no one wants to think of themselves or their loved ones as struggling with a terminal illness, the reality is that it can happen to anyone without any warning. Hence, it is important that you protect your loved ones against the same and provide them with financial support in case the unthinkable happens.

Terminal illness riders can be used any way the insured wants to and the process of claims settlement is also hassle-free once proper documentation has been received by the insurer. In fact, pre-hospitalization expenses are covered up to 30 days before getting admitted to a hospital as per the policy. Terminal illness cover becomes even more important for individuals who have a family history of lifestyle diseases such as heart diseases, cancer.

Riders to life insurance policies are designed to provide additional coverage and make your health insurance policy more customized to your needs and desires. While no one can predict or prevent disease, riders help us in protecting our loved ones and their financial future in case something goes wrong. Terminal illness cover is critical in ensuring that you have a contingency plan in place and give you peace of mind that your loved ones will be taken care of, no matter what happens.